House of Forgings has been my supplier of staircase products (iron balusters) for about 2 years now. I remodel stairs here in my area. Recently I had quoted a customer some parts, they told me they would think about it and let me know.

About a week later my customer comes back and had a price quote from House of Forgings directly! They were asking me why my quote was higher than their quote! Well to be honest I was kind of stunned and did not know what to say. I told them I mark the parts up for resale and it was my understanding that House of Forgings did not sale to the general public (except their online site Cheap Stair Parts)

I was forced to lower my price to match the House of Forgings quote just so I could also get paid on doing the installation work.

Have I called and complained about this? No, I love their products and I really don't want any conflict or repercussion with them. Lucky for me not all customers "shop around" and this has only happened once. It just really irks me that they would sale direct to a customer in my area. In the past they would refer the order directly to me.

I feel I need to write this report in hopes it can be seen as a warning. If this happens again I will be forced to change vendors.

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